Coast Starlight: Rail's best of the West

Mount Shasta can be seen from the Coast Starlight. The train runs from Los Angeles to Seattle, though passengers can disembark at several points along the route. LARRY WELBORN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Checklist

GETTING THERE: The Coast Starlight runs between Los Angeles and Seattle with several stops along the way, including Eugene. Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner or Metrolink serves Union Station from several stations in Orange County.

COST: The fare and accommodations vary widely by demand. Book far in advance, though there can be last-minute off-season deals. Trips in summer and holidays often sell out. In mid-April, the base fare is $110 per person to Eugene. There are discounts for AAA members, senior citizens and others. For a Superliner Roomette, the rate in mid-April is $383. A Family Bedroom, which sleeps up to four, is $648. The Superliner Bedroom, which sleeps two and includes a private bathroom, is $668.

Every time I find myself at Union Station in Los Angeles, I get this feeling I'm an extra in a classic 1930s Hollywood black-and-white suspense thriller.

High ceiling, Spanish-style arches, large brown leather chairs and shoeshine stands. Alfred Hitchcock must be lurking somewhere, waiting for his cameo.

And then there is the sign, above the portal, that cinches the feeling: "TO TRAINS".

Yeah, let's go. To trains.

My wife, Annie, and I usually take trains on vacation: Tourist excursion trips in places like Alaska, Vancouver, Colorado, New Mexico and the Grand Canyon.

Recently, we took the train as the vacation. We boarded Amtrak's Coast Starlight at Union Station and stayed onboard as it chugged up the coast of California, past San Francisco and Mount Shasta, to Eugene, Ore.

It's a way of travel that has mostly given way to the urgency of airports and hotels or the ease of cars and motels. But at one time, it was one of the most popular ways people got around our country.

We booked a "Superliner Roomette" to manage 28 hours on the train. "Roomette" is an apt description for this space. It's about the size of a photo booth (actually it's just under 28 square feet). One bed folds out of the seats when it's time to catch some sleep, the other drops down from the ceiling. It is t-i-n-y.

Some (younger) folks spend the entire time in their seats, but trust me, if you're of a certain age, you'll want a place to rest your weary head in privacy, even if it is cupboard-size.

We didn't spend a whole lot of time there. Instead, we hustled to the Parlour Car, where we plopped down in swivel lounge chairs facing large windows. (Tip: get there early: these seats get snapped up quickly.)

This is why people take a train rather than fly or drive: You watch the scenery roll by while chatting with other train people, sometimes sipping wine, while someone else is in charge of getting you where you want to go. Train trips are about the journey, not the destination. And this was a journey with spectacular views.

It doesn't start out pretty. The spectacle from Union Station to Ventura is an eye-opener to how our neighbors live. It's like a trip through America's back yard. We saw empty swimming pools, clothes lines, a lot of graffiti, and motor-home storage lots.

We also saw small clusters of homeless encampments – views that are spared from drivers on freeways. We saw one woman doing her laundry in a galvanized can. She smiled and waved. We waved back.

It gets better after Ventura. After hours inland, the Coast Starlight finally reaches the coast (hence its name, I reckon). We had a front-row seat to four hours of Southern California surf and sand. We saw boys in board shorts on skim boards, girls in bikinis bagging some rays, dogs frolicking in the surf fetching sticks. It was mesmerizing.

The coolest part of the train ride was when the tracks swept through Vandenberg Air Force Base near Santa Maria, where we saw beaches without people, wide-open spaces and several launch sites where rockets are fired into space. These are views you can't see from any interstate.

Mount Shasta can be seen from the Coast Starlight. The train runs from Los Angeles to Seattle, though passengers can disembark at several points along the route. LARRY WELBORN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
The route of the Coast Starlight train THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Seagulls pause at Rincon Point near the Ventura-Santa Barbara County line. Amtrak's Coast Starlight passes by the area. H. LORREN AU JR., THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Union Station in Los Angeles, the beginning point for the Coast Starlight's northbound journey. JEROD HARRIS, Register file photo
The grand 1939 mission-style architecture of Union Station in Los Angeles makes passengers feel like a tiny speck. It was financed by the Union Pacific, Santa Fe and Southern Pacific railroads. CINDY YAMANAKA, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Passengers gather in the observation car aboard Amtrak's Coast Starlight train in Santa Barbara. ERIC NOLAND, LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS FILE PHOTO
During the afternoon, the parlor car served champagne. LARRY WELBORN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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